Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, March 14, 2024
Hamilton will be buzzing with excitement starting this weekend, as the kick-off to the most awaited event of the country’s annual calendar comes to life.
Voted six times as the Best Waikato Event by the public of Hamilton & Best Community Event in NZ at the NZEAP Awards, ‘Balloons Over Waikato’ is a unique event that brings out the child-like wonder for all city residents.
“The sight of balloons in the air as we make a run for school drops or head to the office, a quick stop before we start the day to see the balloons lift off and the sheer excitement of spotting a mirage of colours in the morning sky simply brightens up our day as a family and acts as a common connecting factor for all Hamiltonians,” said Chelsea, an accountant by profession and a mother of two primary aged children.
‘Balloons Over Waikato’ festival, scheduled from Tuesday, March 19, 2024, to Saturday, March 23, 2024, will bring the magic of hot air balloons to the region again for its 25th anniversary, with all the fan favourites like morning lift-offs, the Basket Burn and Balloons visiting Waipa.
Kick-off over the weekend
On Saturday, March 16, 2024, a special kick-off to this year’s Balloons Over Waikato festival has been planned to launch the city into the ‘Balloons Event Week’ at Garden Place with the ‘Love the Centre Walk Thru Balloon.’ From 1 pm-4 pm, visitors can step inside a real hot air balloon, enjoy fun activities, music and entertainment helping kick off Balloons event week, all while supporting Waikato Sunrise Rotary and their charity of choice, True Colours Children’s Health Trust, with a gold coin donation.
Waikato Sunrise Rotary will also provide more than 160 volunteers for the event, to ensure a smooth functioning of the event and a pleasant experience to the visitors during all days.
About the event
Balloons Over Waikato is New Zealand’s premier hot air balloon festival. Held annually, this five-day iconic event is arguably the most popular in the city. It attracts balloonists from all over New Zealand and around the world who come to experience the fun, friendship and warmth that this balloon-friendly city provides and to demonstrate their skills in a range of competitive activities.
Over 130,000 spectators enjoy the unique site of balloons ascending through the Waikato each year, from 7.00 am every morning to Hamilton’s biggest night out at The ZURU Nightglow, where the balloons glow to orchestrated music finishing with the best fireworks display in town, the SkyCity Hamilton Fireworks Extravaganza.
Morning flying
The balloons will be flying early each morning of the event from 7 am at Innes Common. This is a wonderful opportunity to get up close to the balloons and watch the teams in action as they prepare the balloons for flight. So make sure you join us nice and early as there is nothing more majestic than watching the balloons leave the ground and soar across the City.
On March 19, 2024, the first chance to see the balloons take to the sky will also be the morning of the ‘Hamilton City Council Opening Fiesta,’ where the visitors can spin the Hamilton City Council prize wheel and win prizes like tickets to Hamilton Zoo, Waterworld or Excite at Waikato Museum on offer along with hot air balloon biscuits and treats.
Apart from the two special-shaped hot air balloons which are the new additions (and the reason for added excitement this year), Farmer Pig and Bila the Baby Polar Bear, from the US, there are 18 balloons from around New Zealand, with some highly trained pilots and their teams, coming from various parts of the World.
Zuru Night Glow
The ZURU Nightglow, which is the biggest night of the festival is marked with many on-stage performances with four hours of live entertainment, carnival rides and games, food trucks and vendors and the highlight of the night is the glorious orchestrated hot air balloon glow, that will light up the night sky, culminating in the SkyCity Hamilton Fireworks extravaganza.
This year the Zuru Night Glow is at the venue where it first began, The Claudelands Oval. The venue has already reached its capacity for The ZURU Nightglow, and there are currently no more tickets available, with 30,000 tickets booked online.
Event organiser Michele Connell previously said they made the move to limit the number of visitors to ensure the event stays family-friendly.
“Our priority is not so much to be the biggest event, but the best. We want to create a safe, family-friendly environment, and with that many people attending in the past, this has been difficult,” Ms Connell said.
kicking off at 5 pm with duo Steve & Kenny followed by band Decibel playing classic rock and pop tunes. The headline act is The Monroes, who will continue performing after the event.
To find out more visit balloonsoverwaikato.co.nz
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
